Wind-aware UAV photogrammetry planning: minimising motion blur for effective terrain surveying

The effectiveness and efficiency of using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for automated power transmission line inspection is tightly related to the inspection paths designed for UAV. Different types of UAV are suitable for different inspection tasks and have different requirements for path planning. Based on the contents of the transmission line inspection, it can be divided into tower monitoring and line corridor monitoring. First, according to the characteristics of the tower monitoring, the multi-rotor UAV is used for the tower inspection. By considering the safe distance bewteen UAV and the tower and the features of the camera, the genetic algorithm (GA) is used to design a rational inspection path. Then, according to the requirements of the line corridor monitoring mission, the fixed-wing UAV is used for long distance inspection and the path planning mathematical model and objective function are established. Polar coordinate coding is used to overcome the restrictions of the maximum path deflection angle, the minimum step length and the number of the maximum path nodes. The GA and genetic simulated annealing (GSA) algorithms are used to obtain effective inspection paths. Simulation results show that the proposed optimization scheme in this paper can find the optimal inspection paths.

The conducted SWOT analysis made it possible to develop problematic issues that are proposed during the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, proposals were made for the creation of a mobile complex of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles based on the chassis of a truck. Formulation of the problem. During hostilities, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were widely used. The massive use of the latest robotic (automated) weapons and military equipment on the battlefield is changing the nature of units' actions. Currently, almost every combat unit has a UAV application group. The high efficiency of their use is confirmed by high results on the battlefield. The security and defense forces of Ukraine are armed with dozens of types of UAVs for various purposes and with various capabilities for lifting cargo and carrying explosives. The use of UAV combat units in the field. Launches of lethal vehicles are carried out by hand or with the help of launch devices. With this mobile application group, the BPLA, although it is at a distance from the line of the next combat encounter, does not have sufficient security and protection from enemy fire. Preparation for use, maintenance of UAVs and charging of batteries in stationary conditions the day before, which reduces the efficiency of actions.The deployment of mobile groups of UAV operators is carried out on vehicles that are available to the military unit at the time, and which are not adapted for the high-quality performance of the combat mission by the group. UAV operators and equipment are not protected from exposure to low ambient temperatures and have no protection from small arms and shrapnel damage. Time indicators of deployment on the terrain of the complex for launching UAVs and folding after the completion of a combat mission need improvement. Analysis of recent research and publications. Scientific studies on improving the actions of units equipped with UAVs were carried out in the National Guard even before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. For example, in [1-2], data are given regarding the need for intelligence information and the development of a rational procedure for the use of intelligence unmanned aerial vehicles. In [3], the methodological apparatus for researching the problems of using information technologies and telecommunication systems in the process of military management is presented. The purpose of the article is to justify the need to create a mobile complex for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles based on a truck chassis. Provide recommendations on the creation of a mobile complex for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles allows the countries that use them to significantly reduce the loss of manpower and equipment during the combat mission and at the same time significantly increase the effectiveness of the use of high-precision and conventional means of destruction. The greatest experience in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles was acquired by countries that are actually advanced in terms of military technology (in particular, the USA, Israel, Turkey, etc.), which took an active part in armed conflicts in the Middle East, the North Caucasus, etc. In addition, in modern conditions, the threat of uncontrolled spread of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles of a light class, which can be used for the purpose of carrying out terrorist acts on important state and military facilities, is growing. Unmanned aerial vehicles have become so important to success on the battlefield that they are sometimes used by the military to destroy enemy drones. In addition, it is with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles that one side receives the coordinates of military targets and command posts of the opposite side, which are subsequently destroyed by accurate artillery strikes. In the article, based on the analysis of modern wars and armed conflicts, combat experience and features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles of the armed forces of the russian federation, an analysis of unmanned aerial vehicles for typical tasks, in particular, conducting reconnaissance, adjusting fire, striking and electronic warfare, was carried out. In particular, the conducted analysis indicates a tendency to increase the scale of use of unmanned aerial vehicles by the armed forces of the russian federation in conditions of a full-scale armed conflict (not excluded due to the end of stocks of high-precision missiles), in contrast to the experience of the combat use of individual unmanned aerial vehicles in the East of the country and the expansion of the range of tasks.

In the 21 st century, unmanned systems (especially unmanned aerial vehicles) will play a dominant role in the operational fields. Thanks to the technological developments witnessed in many fields, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for military purposes is becoming easier. Looking at the operations carried out over the last 25 years, it can be seen that most were conducted in residential areas, where and techniques, tactics and equipment with asymmetric effects will make significant differences. In addition to this, the more loss of life in operations, the more governments come under pressure from the public. Taking these factors into consideration, it is believed that unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be used to increase dominance in operations and prevent loss of life, will be used more often and more effectively in the future. It is also believed that unmanned aerial vehicles will be used as assault media in both residential areas and in other operational environments in order to take advantage of the high level asymmetric effect.

In recent years, low-altitude and low-volume plant protection operations using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayer developed rapidly in China with the advantages of high efficiency, labour saving, high safety, high terrain adaptability, high flexibility, water and chemicals saving, and high intelligence. With the UAV application technology in field crops is becoming more and more mature, aerial spraying operations in orchards are promising and in the ascendant, but a high risk of UAV spray drift is appearing due to high working height and fine droplets sprayed in slope orchards, highlighting the necessity of the study on the spray drift characteristics of UAV chemicals application for fruit trees. Therefore, based on previous research, a novel type of measuring method of spray drift for UAV chemicals application in orchard was proposed in this study and an artificial orchard test stand (vineyard) and 3 airborne drift frame collectors were designed and built, and a set of field drift test bench was firstly used to collect aerial spray drift droplets at different downwind distances, together with ground drift collectors and canopy deposition collectors. An airborne drift index (ADX) of UAV’s spray was initially applied for quantitative analysis to compare spray drift characteristics of different models of unmanned aircrafts and variable operation parameters. Fluorescence tracer Pyranine water solution was prepared at the concentration of 0.1% as the spray liquid. Four typical types of plant protection UAV (a single-rotor oil-powered helicopter, a 6-rotor motor drone and two models of 8-rotor motor drones) equipped with conventional hollow cone nozzle ‘TR 80-0067’ and air-induction anti-drift nozzle ‘IDK 120-015’were tested in the artificial vineyard, and results of canopy deposition distribution, ground sediment drift, near-ground drift, and airborne drift were obtained and analysed, and different sampling collectors for spray drift were evaluated and compared. The results showed that: Under the environmental conditions that the nominal crosswind speed was 2.4-3.6 m/s, the temperature was 29.8-34.3 ℃ and relative humidity was 10.7%-30.6%, at the flight height of 1.5 m (3.5 m from the ground) and the speed of 2.0 m/s the air-induction nozzle IDK can significantly reduce the level of downwind spray drift of UAV, optimize the uniformity of deposition distribution and increase the effective utilization rate of chemicals; There was no significant difference in the drift characteristics of the 4 types of unmanned aircraft, and the vortex generated by the combination of the rotor’s downwash airflow and the external wind was an important factor on spray drift; Buffer zone of UAV aerial spraying operation in vineyards should be set at at least 15 m; The lower the canopy deposition rate (P 0), the larger the average average drift rate (AADR) and 90% cumulative drift distancex90% of the field drift test bench (P 0), the greater the ADX value (P 0) all indicated the higher spray drift risk, respectively; Both these sampling collectors and their evaluation index could assess the downwind drift characteristics effectively; the relationship between the UAV spray drift rate βdep% and the downwind distance x was described by the exponential function. The results of this study are expected to provide references and data supports for the R&D of UAV dedicated for orchard spraying, the formulation of standards on spray drift field measuring method for UAV orchard operations and the selection of aerial application working parameters in orchards.

<p>Magnetic mapping is commonly used in the academic and industrial sectors for a wide variety of objectives. To comply with a broad range of survey designs, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has become frequent over the recent years. The majority of existing systems involves a magnetic acquisition equipment and its carrier (an UAV in this context) with no -or very few- connections between the two systems. Terremys is conceiving and optimizing UAVs specifically adapted for geophysical magnetic acquisitions together with the appropriate processing tools, and performs magnetic surveying in challenging environments. Terremys’ “Q6” system weights 2.5 kg in air, including UAV & instrumentation, and allows 30 min swarm or individual flights.</p><p>Rotary-wing UAVs are found to be the most adaptive systems for a wide range of contexts and constraints (extensive range of flights heights even with steep slopes). They offer more flight flexibility than fixed-wing aircrafts. One of the major problems in the use of rotary-wings UAVs for magnetic mapping is the magnetic field generated by the aircraft itself on the measurements. Towing the magnetic sensor 2 to 5 m under the aircraft reduces data positioning accuracy and decreases the performances of the UAV, which can be critical for high-resolution surveys. To overcome these problems, a deployable 1 m long boom is rigidly attached to the UAV. The UAV magnetic signal can be divided between 1-the magnetic field of the whole equipment and 2-a low to high frequency magnetic field mostly originating from the motors. The magnetization of the system is the principal source of magnetic noise. It is modelled and corrected by calibration-compensation processes permitted by the use of three-component fluxgate magnetometers. The time-varying noise depends on the motors rotational speed and is minimized by optimizing the UAV components and characteristics along with the boom’s length.</p><p>The final set-up is able to acquire magnetic data with a precision of 1 to 5 nT at any height from 1 to 150 m above ground level. The high-precision magnetic measurements are coupled with a centimetric RTK navigation system to allow for high-resolution surveying. The quality of the obtained data is similar to that obtained with ground or aerial surveys with conventional carriers and matches industrial standards. Moreover, Terremys’ systems merge in real-time data from all the aircraft instruments in order to integrate magnetic measurements, positioning information and all the UAV’s flight data (full telemetry) into a unique synchronized data file. This opens up many possibilities in terms of QA/QC, data processing and facilitates on-field workflows.</p><p>Case studies with diverse designs, flight altitudes and targets are presented to investigate the acquisition performances for different applications, as distinct as network positioning, archaeological prospecting or geological mapping.</p><p>The full integration of the magnetic sensor to the drone opens the possibility for implementation additional sensors to the system. The adjoining of other magnetic sensors would allow multi-sensors surveying and increases daily productivity. Diverse geophysical sensors can also be added, such as thermal/infrared cameras, spectrometers, radar/SAR.</p>

With the advances in computation, sensor, communication and networking technologies, utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for military and civilian areas has become extremely popular for the last two decades. Since small UAVs are relatively cheap, the focus is changing, and usage of several small UAVs is preferred rather than one large UAV. This change in orientation is dramatic, and it is resulting to develop new networking technologies between UAVs, which can constitute swarm UAV teams for executing specific tasks with different levels of intra and inter vehicle communication especially for coordination and control of the system. Setting up a UAV network not only extends operational scope and range but also enables quick and reliable response time. Because UAVs are highly mobile nodes for networking, setting up an ad-hoc network is a challenging issue, and this networking has some requirements, which differ from traditional networks, mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) and vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) in terms of connectivity, routing process, services, applications, etc. In this paper, it is aimed to point out the challenges in the usage of UAVs as mobile nodes in an ad-hoc network and to depict open research issues with analyzing the opportunities and future works.

The appearance in widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles, both multi-rotor and wing-carrying aircraft, revealed the possibility of their use in the activities of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. They can be used for emergency reconnaissance, aerial surveying, search operations, aviation chemical work related to the circulation of hazardous substances, monitoring of territories and objects, transmission of radio signals, delivery to the site of emergencies various types of payload, conducting alerting, lighting emergency situations and direct firefighting. Therefore, the issue of using unmanned aerial vehicles in the activities of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is relevant. In essence, the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle is reduced to two main types of work - observation or work around a point object or movement over long distances to ensure work on the earth's surface. It is clear that the technical characteristics of the unmanned aerial vehicle determines its suitability for use in the relevant types of work. One of these characteristics is the range of radio communication, the busiest channel of which is real-time video communication, which is essential for most assigned tasks. The article attempts to estimate the range of video data transmission by radio for the most common models of multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles of mass production and video data transmission systems that can be used optionally. To this end, we analyze the characteristics of video transmission systems, factors that affect the quality of video communication and others. Existing mass-produced models are best suited to work around a point object. Their use for long-distance flights will be limited by the range of video data transmission. By overcoming this situation, the authors see the use of unified unmanned aerial vehicles equipping them with optional video transmission systems.

The use and applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in geotechnical engineering is rapidly growing, leading to changes in the way that data is acquired, analyzed and processed. UAVs can reach areas previously inaccessible via ground or helicopter, while also being quickly deployed. Cameras are the current standard for data collection and 3D model creation.
 There are multiple types of UAV’s currently available. Quadcopters can take off and land in spatially constrained areas, but carry a small stabilized camera producing low quality models. Octocopters permit an increased payload, so a higher quality camera can be attached, allowing for increased model accuracy. Flight time is reduced by the additional weight. Fixed wing UAVs create higher quality photogrammetry models, and are commonly deployed over large surface areas. Transport Canada certification must be approved prior to any flights occurring for research or work. A detailed application must be created, including a flight plan and demonstration of prior flight experience.
 At the White Canyon site in B.C., a Phantom 4 Quadcopter was flown for geotechnical analysis of a complex geometry slope, which has previously been studied for several years. The terrain has occluded the data available from the ground or from permissible helicopter flight paths. Therefore, detailed information from the slope has not been previously available. The process of using a UAV to obtain these data sets, to develop a full 3D model of these areas of the slope is discussed, considering the accuracy and quality of the data available.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is becoming increasingly widespread in many areas of human life every year. Not only military, but also civilian use of UAVs in various fields of science, industry, forestry, agronomy, cartography, ecology, and space research is hard to overestimate. For this reason, the use and development of UAVs in various fields remains extremely promising in the near future. Compared to manned vehicles, UAVs have the following advantages: no crew and no need for life support systems, large airfields; lower cost and low expenses for their development, production and operation; better weight and dimensions; high reliability and maneuverability; a wide range of specialized equipment for placement on board. UAVs are being introduced into all spheres of human life, even those where UAVs have no manned alternative. Some models of multicopters are already being used to deliver goods and extinguish fires. UAVs of new designs continue to be developed.In all areas of UAV application, the task of increasing autonomy remains relevant and important. The duration of con-tinuous operation and flight range directly affect the capabilities of the UAV, its ability to perform tasks and efficiency.UAV power consumption depends on the weight of the payload, weather conditions and drone speed. Energy consumption is a critical criterion for a drone to perform its missions and needs to be further studied. Many studies have been conducted to increase flight time by improving energy efficiency or reducing the energy consumed by the drone.Study the influence of battery parameters (capacity and weight) and propeller group (number of propellers and their diameter) on the maximum possible flight duration of UAVs of different masses.The main factors affecting the maximum flight duration of a UAV are considered. A model for calculating the power consumed by the device in the hover mode is presented. The maximum flight duration of a UAV is calculated depending on the battery capacity and weight, the number of propellers, and the diameter of the propellers for vehicles of different masses.It is shown that there is no point in increasing the battery capacity indefinitely, and there is an optimum point that depends on the ratio of the battery mass to the mass of the vehicle. It is also shown that increasing the diameter of the propellers significantly increases the flight time, while increasing their number is not as effective.

Nowadays, in the course of war between Ukraine and the russian federation, there is a large-scale employ of various weapon systems that are used on land, in the air, and at sea. Unlike the enemy, Ukraine Forces prefer to utilize asynchronous methods of armed struggle. In order to successfully implementation of these asynchronous methods is necessary used to contemporary unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned air systems. It is known that at the beginning phase of the war the Ukrainian defenders were used unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned air systems on the principle of “controlled chaos”. As a result of these active operations, the Ukrainian defenders could discourage and defeat enemy. Therefore, in order to secure effective usage of unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned air systems it is necessary to introduce a clear hierarchy with clear classification features. This task is certainly relevant today for Ukrainian NAVY. It is the significant task, because the Ukrainian NAVY has some experience in the combat use of unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned air systems, but they need its systematization and comprehensive implementation, taking into account the specifics of conducting combat operations at Black sea. At the same time, in order to improve functionality and effectiveness of the unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned air systems the developers must apply information technologies such as, internet of military things, cloud technologies and artificial intelligence. For instance, if developers wanted to implementation of internet of military things technologies, they would be able to ensure intercommunication among different groups of aerial vehicles and simplify to control process of them.
 In the proposed paper, the authors tried to perform capabilities analysis of usage of different types unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned air systems with various control systems and military categories based on the use of NATO standards. In addition, the authors performed this analysis considering different types Ukrainian NAVY ships and support vessels. Moreover, the authors of the paper also proposed a classification for unmanned aerial vehicles of Ukrainian NAVY.

Digital elevation models (DEMs), also called digital surface models (DSMs) or digital terrain models (DTMs), are important sources of geospatial information for many remote sensing applications, such as deformation monitoring, multi-criteria decision support systems, 3D spatial analyses, and high-resolution satellite images. Some calculations and process chains depend on DEM accuracy. Choosing the correct DEM requires considering the study's purpose, accuracy need, and scale. This research is conduct at Tekkah, Perak's. The purpose of this research is to identify the accuracy detection of UAV based on different flying altitude. The method proposed for this research is aerial photogrammetry by using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This is important in order to help us to capture the most reliable data to analyze the difference accuracy based on detection from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) captured and analyze at different altitude. The findings obtained is that the 300m flying height altitude captures a more accurate surface and terrain model compared to the 400m flying height.

The materials of the article reveal the features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for controlling the coastline of the sea coast. In the article, it is determined that in order to preserve the lives of personnel and perform tasks related to operational control and reconnaissance of the coastline of the sea coast, unmanned aerial vehicles of various types began to be actively involved. The purpose of the article is to reveal the features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for monitoring the coastline of the sea coast. The article reveals the essence and content of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance of the coastal strip of the sea coast, as well as the conditions and features of their effective use according to various options for tactics. The main principles of using unmanned aerial vehicles as part of air reconnaissance units during control of the coastline of the sea coast are: constant high level of readiness to perform tasks; concentrating efforts on the enemy's active areas of activity; clear interaction with units of the Maritime Guard of the State Border Service of Ukraine (border units, mobile groups); high activity, decisiveness and suddenness of actions. The article describes the main ways of using unmanned aerial vehicles, namely: route flight; air search; accompanying the enemy. It is determined that the method of using unmanned aerial vehicles is specified by the senior chief (commander) or determined by the unit commander when making a decision to fly and use an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method of application of flight performance can be changed based on the situation in the area of responsibility in a specific period of time. At the same time, the features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles during the day, at night, at extremely low altitudes and above the water surface are revealed. The article emphasizes that all flights for the purpose of controlling the coastline of the sea coast should be carried out with the maximum use of the camouflage properties of the terrain and, if possible, in the morning hours of the day. It was determined that further scientific research in this field is seen in the procedure of combining control of the coastal strip of the sea coast with reconnaissance and search for mines and explosive objects on land and water surface.

Statement of the problem. Effective legal support of economic activities using unmanned aerial vehicles (hereinafter - UAVs) is extremely important and strategically necessary for the economic and legal development of Ukraine in the coming years. It is worth noting that this is not a narrow “aviation” industry, but a trans-sectoral economic model that covers agribusiness, logistics, infrastructure, security, medicine, energy, defense, etc. The role and importance of UAVs for the country's economy is growing every day. Business entities in the private sector are actively developing, supplying and servicing UAVs, which creates an urgent need for legal regulation of the B2G and B2B segments. Obviously, UAVs will have prospects for development during the post-war recovery period, such as in the agricultural business (aerial photography, precision farming), construction (facility monitoring), energy (inspection of transmission lines), etc. In the context of its European integration progress, Ukraine is also obliged to bring its domestic legislation in line with the requirements of EU legislation on UAVs (the central part of which is Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of May 24, 2019 on rules and procedures for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles), as well as with the standards of EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). The purpose of the article is to determine the specifics of legal support for economic activities involving the use of UAVs, which is inevitably necessary from the perspective of business practice, security and competition. Analysis of recent research and publications. The legal regulation of the production and use of UAVs has been studied by such scholars as: O.M. Shershakov, M.A. Mykytyuk, V.V. Voronko, O.M. Hryhorov, V.M. Begma, L.M. Nevara, L.Y. Grekova, O.M. Striltsiv, H.A. Hryshchenko, A.Y. Kovalchuk, and others. However, almost all scientific publications on this topic are related to the production and use of UAVs in civil aviation or for the needs of the army and law enforcement agencies. The economic and legal aspect of the use of UAVs remains poorly understood. Summary of the main material. The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the problems and prospects of legal regulation of economic activities carried out with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Ukraine. The authors identifies the key features of an unmanned aerial vehicle from the perspective of economic and legal science: absence of a pilot on board, functional autonomy or remote control, the ability to perform economic (economic) tasks, availability of technical infrastructure and software which makes a UAV an infrastructure object of economic activity, as well as legal regulation of economic circulation which provides for certification, state control over dual use, special export/import regime and the need for a license to operate a UAV. It is found that a critical feature is restrictions on the use and zonal access, since airspace is an object of public law, and the rules of admission for UAVs differ significantly from manned aircraft. The authors substantiates the expediency of having a separate legal regime for UAVs in the economic sphere, which is due to the functional difference of UAVs from other objects of economic circulation (as a “hybrid object”), their risky nature which requires specific regulation (certification, registration, liability insurance, permitting procedures and cybersecurity regulation), as well as the investment and economic significance of UAVs, which requires ensuring a unified legal regime for ownership, sale, lease, pledge and investment. Potential risks associated with the introduction of a separate legal regime for UAVs are analyzed. Conclusion. The legal regulation of economic activities involving the use of UAVs requires conceptual understanding, intersectoral coordination and gradual implementation of European approaches adapted to national realities. The expediency of creating a separate legal regime for UAVs in the business sector, given their functional difference, risky nature and economic significance, is beyond doubt. Such a regime should provide legal certainty, stimulate investment and innovation, and harmonize Ukrainian legislation with EU and international standards. However, its implementation requires a comprehensive approach that addresses potential risks such as regulatory fragmentation, excessive regulatory burden, overlapping regulatory powers, and a legal vacuum with respect to new technologies. The successful implementation of this process depends on alignment with the existing regulatory framework, regulatory flexibility, cooperation with business, and a phased implementation.

The increasing cases of wireless communication networks being partly (or even fully) destroyed after the occurrence of natural disasters has made researchers focus on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to provide quick and efficient backup communication in post-disaster scenarios. However, the performance of UAVs in the provisioning of wireless coverage is known to be constrained by their battery life, which limits their flight times. In this paper, we explore the use of a single UAV to provide backhaul connectivity to truck-mounted Base Stations (BSs) that have been deployed within a disaster zone to provide network coverage to users based on the principle of delay-tolerant communications. We propose a trajectory design that uses genetic algorithm to find the trajectory with the least energy requirement for the UAV to visit all the BSs and return to a central node that acts as a gateway to the core network. Our trajectory design takes into account both the straight-and-level flight and banked-level turns of the UAV in computing the energy requirement. Simulation results show that our proposed design outperforms two approaches in the literature by up to 14% and 40%.